Making it work
by The madness in me
Summary: Cloud Strife's first time sharing a bed with his four lovers leads to unexpected problems and unfortunate misunderstandings. They all soon discover that relationships take compromises.


Cloud Strife was born in the middle of the worst blizzard in Nibelheim history.

He was raised in a wood cabin that was coated in a layer of snow in summer and buried beneath a mountain of it in winter.

He learned to swim in a lake which had a permanent layer of ice across the surface. To go for a swim you had to cut a hole through and prey you remembered where that hole was when it was time to come up for air.

The Nibel-mountains were easily the harshest environment on Gaia any human beings had ever dared to live.

If you couldn't handle the cold you wouldn't last long there.

Only the strongest of the children survived the first few years.

Only the strongest of those lived long enough to have children of their own.

Cloud Strife was the 20th generation of his family to have grown up on that mountain.

Every aspect of his physiology was perfectly adapted to that environment.

Cloud strife was built for the cold.

Cloud strife loved the cold.

Tangled in the middle of a bed with an extra thick duvet and four soldiers wrapped around him, each pumping out heat like a human radiator, Cloud Strife was on the verge of a panic attack.

He couldn't breathe!

His new lovers slept soundly around him oblivious to the crisis their newest bed mate was facing.

He had to get out of here.

Pushing firmly but gently on the two arms currently lying on top of him, trying desperately not to wake their owners, the teenager managed to create enough space for movement.

He then began wriggling and contorting his body in ways that hadn't even been achieved during the nights previous activities.

With slow careful movements the overheated cadet finally managed to manoeuvre himself to the edge of the bed and with a great sense of relief slid out from the constricting heat of the covers and lowered himself to the blissfully cool floor. Quietly thanking every deity anyone has ever preyed to, he dragged in air with over exaggerated force until he could finally breath again.

He was still too hot though.

He needed to cool down.

Quietly rising up from the ground, the young escapee slipped out of the room and made his way to the bathroom along the hall.

The water in the bath was near freezing when he slid into it, everything from the tips of his toes to the tallest spike of his hair completely submerged.

The heat left his body rapidly.

It felt amazing.

When breathing became an issue again he lifted his face only high enough to allow his nose to break the surface.

With his internal temperature returned to a more bearable level the resilient little mountain boy relaxed into the deliciously cool water and let it sooth him back into a relaxed state.

It wasn't until the need to sleep finally reasserted itself that he found the strength to drag himself back out.

Going back into the main room was out of the question so instead he made his way to the guest room.

Lying back on the cool crisp sheets Cloud Strife was in heaven.

Sleep came quickly this time.

* * *

"Think carefully. Did anyone say anything to him?" Zack urged.

Three faces scrunched up in thought.

"I don't think I did"

"Me either"

"Not that I can recall"

"Well someone must have said something" The raven haired young man exclaimed, running his hands through his hair in agitation, "He obviously thinks he isn't welcome"

"Maybe we weren't clear enough when we asked him to join us? Maybe he thought we only meant for one night and he felt like he was intruding?"

Four heads nodded in agreement.

Four hearts constricted in remorse.

"Should we talk to him about it? Make it clear that we want him to feel like an equal member of the group?"

"He might take it badly. Would probably see it as a reprimand for leaving last night and think we're upset with him. I don't want to make him feel guilty or upset."

"Then we should just show him, help him understand that he's welcome with us without making a fuss about last night."

Four heads nodded once more.

* * *

Oh god it was happening again!

Why did these guys insist on cuddling so close to him?

He pushed on the arms. Gently, gently.

They tightened.

He wriggled.

He squirmed.

He slid slowly towards the edge of the bed.

Someone pulled him back.

Arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him in, his back pressed flush against a hot chest.

Warm breath on the back of his neck.

He couldn't think.

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't move.

He screamed.

* * *

Four soldiers jumped up in shock.

One cadet thrashed around the bed in a crazed panic.

"Get off of me! Get off of me!" Tears spilled down the young blonds face as his frustration at the stifling heat overcame him.

He broke down.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Genesis shrieked at his partners and their young lover began kicking and scratching.

They all quickly exited the bed and stood back, looking on in speechless confusion as he continued to tear at the bed, violently shoving all covers and pillows away from himself.

"Cloud? Cloud honey, what's wrong?" Angeal crouched beside the bed and tentatively reached his hand out towards the frantic cadet trying not to startle him any further.

Cloud felt the heat of the appendage settle on his shoulder like a lash.

"Don't touch me!" he screeched.

He threw himself backwards off the mattress and landed on the floor of the bedroom with a heavy thud before scurrying quickly into the corner.

Four pairs of feet stepped towards him in concern.

He screamed again.

Choked sobs filled the room.

"Don't touch me, please just leave me alone"

Four hearts broke.

What had caused this?

They didn't know much about their young lover. His interactions with their group had been limited up to that point, his joining the relationship had been sudden and mostly unplanned though certainly not unwelcomed.

The drawback of that being that beyond basic background information there was still so much they had yet to learn.

Was this all the result of some past trauma they didn't know about?

What had happened to this blue eyed little angel that could cause such a violent reaction?

In the silence that enveloped the room following this latest epiphany the youngest occupant suddenly darted from his refuge in the corner and sprinted towards the bathroom.

Four worried lovers followed after.

From outside the locked door the shower could be heard.

"Cloud?"

Gentle taps were rained across the door.

"Cloud please just let us know that you're ok?"

The shower stopped.

Moments passed.

The door opened.

As the young man passed quickly by them, in a far calmer state than they had seen just minuets previously and wordlessly confined himself to the spare bedroom, four distracted soldiers completely failed to notice the absence of steam from the bathroom.

* * *

"Sorry about last night. I didn't mean to freak out like that"

The soldiers froze as the young man stepped into the room. It was late evening and the first time they had seen him that day, he had slipped out early that morning for his classes without saying goodbye.

The look on the boys face was heartbreaking to the older four. He was clearly embarrassed.

"Oh, sweetheart no, don't apologise. It's not your fault."

Zack went to take a step towards his blonde lover before freezing, remembering how the cadet had flinched away from him just hours before.

"We are so sorry we scared you like that." He said gently.

Cloud smiled. "Its fine. I was a bit crazed, totally my fault" Now that he had calmed down the whole thing seemed pretty funny. He looked around at the others in the room, their faces showing various stages of anguish and horror and his smile dropped. Clearly no-one else agreed.

 _Oh god, they must think I'm mental._

 **Oh god, he's blaming himself**

The four soldiers had no idea how to approach the situation; before they could find the words to reassure their youngest lover that he was not to blame for his behaviour the previous night the boy himself jumped in. "Look can we please not talk about this anymore? I'm fine now and it's really not that big a deal"

Cloud was hopeful that if he downplayed the situation the others would eventually let it drop and everything would go back to normal.

Unfortunately his lovers were anything but reassured. Convinced the boy had suffered some unbearable trauma that he was trying to shoulder alone, they each agreed to grant his request tonight for fear that pressing the issue would cause further distress. As the group sat to eat their meal four sets of eyes met across the table and silently made a promise to one another.

 **We need to help him.**

* * *

"I just think it might be better if I spoke to him alone. We don't want him to feel like we are all ganging up on him."

"It will be fine Zack. I think it's more important to show him that we all care about him and that all of us is going to be there if he needs us."

"Yeah but I still..."

"Shhh shhh here he comes." Genesis hissed, hearing the lock turning in the door

Cloud gently shut the door behind himself, mindful to be quiet in case any of his lovers had already gone to bed. He was surprised therefore when he walked through to find them all sat quietly together in the living room staring up at him apprehensively from their seats.

"Umm what's going on?" This was weird.

Angeal spoke first. Rising and gently gesturing towards the only armchair in the space. "Why don't you take a seat"

For a moment he considered protesting and demanding again that they tell him what was going on, but by the looks on their faces he thought sitting was probably a good idea. He quickly lowered himself into the chair as the elder man returned to his own seat.

"Cloud.." Zack began, shifting to sit on the edge of the sofa and leaning forward toward the blonde.

"Are you guys breaking up with me?" Cloud blurted. He hadn't meant to ask that bluntly but the fear had been at the front of his mind since entering the room and he was desperate to know. He had been worried this would happen since the day they had invited him to join their relationship. Had never really understood what he saw in him to begin with.

The question caught the others of guard. "What? No, god no, honey that's not what this is about." Seph rushed to reassure his youngest love.

"Then what?! What is going on? I just came home to find you guys waiting here in silence staring at me like a bunch of surgeons about to tell a patient they're dying or something." He sounded frantic.

"I told you I should have spoken to him alone first" Zack muttered under his breath earning him an elbow in the side from Genesis. The auburn haired soldier decided it was his turn to try speaking.

"Cloud. You know we love you?" He waited for the light nod of affirmation before continuing. "We care about you and we want you to feel comfortable around us." Another nod, more hesitant this time but he continued anyway. "And a part of that is knowing that we are here to listen to you about anything you want to talk about. Even if those subjects may seem difficult or upsetting. We are here for you"

He locked eyes with the confused teen, willing him to understand.

"What the hell are you on about?" Clearly that had failed.

Sephiroth stepped in to reinforce the message "Cloud, we just want you to know that we are here for you if you ever want to talk."

"Talk about what?!"

The blond cadet was beyond frustrated now.

"What do you think I need to talk about? What are YOU talking about?" he could feel tears running down his face and his throat was sore from shouting, he wished he knew what was happening right now.

"Cloud, we know something happened to you in the past"

The boys eyebrows drew together in confusion and his tears intensified though he wasn't sure why. "What do you mean something happened? What something?"

His question was answered with silence. Each of his lovers unsure how to continue and hoping one of the others would speak first so they wouldn't have to be the one who made the situation worse than it had already become.

After a few moments of nothing but Clouds sobbing to break the silence it become too much for Zack. "Sweetheart" he gently coaxed, moving to kneel before his distressed lover and taking his hand. His elder lovers may have wanted to be slower in approaching this situation but having known Cloud the longest he knew the boy hated to be coddled and given how upset their current approach was making him he decided it would be better to just be frank and ask what they were all wondering. "We want to know what happened that caused you to freak out last night."

He could feel Genesis's glare on the back of his head but stubbornly ignored it, keeping his focus on the little blond in front of him who had abruptly fallen silent.

Clouds mind was rushing to connect the dots "What?"

"We want to know what happened to cause your reaction last night. Cloud honey, you were completely freaking out. You panicked when we went near you, clearly something caused that. Did..." He paused to swallow, bracing himself for the next question "Did someone.. hurt you?"

Genesis was still glaring and Angeal and Sephiroth seemed to have joined in. He kept his focus on Cloud.

The boy in question was still silent, all previous distress forgotten as he began to process the situation and realise what was going on.

The soldiers waited in silence, watching the emotions play across the young man's face, the tension in the room still strong.

Seconds ticked by and Angeal was just about to speak again when suddenly Cloud began to laugh. It started slow and eventually increased until he fell forward off of the sofa and into Zack who was still crouched in front of him.

The four soldiers glanced between one another not sure how to deal with this sudden turn of events. Was this a symptom of his trauma maybe?

The blonde clung to his dark haired lover, now shaking with his laughter, seemingly oblivious to the other soldiers continued distress.

"Cloud" Sephiroth ventured "Cloud are you ok?" The question seemed insufficient given the gravity of the conversation they were having but it only served to make the young blonde laugh harder. With no other option the four soldiers returned to waiting in silence for their young lover to calm down and tell them what was going on.

It took a while but eventually the laughter subsided and Cloud pulled away from the confused First Class grinning widely and wiping the remaining tears from his face with his sleeve.

Glancing around at four now very concerned faces, a few final chuckles escaped him before he forcibly composed himself. "Sorry about that." He grinned. Strangely it did nothing to reassure his still confused lovers. "I'm just so relieved" Still nothing.

Sephiroth took a deep breath. "In what way are you relieved?"

The three other soldiers leaned forward, eagerly awaiting an explanation for their youngest members behaviour these last few days.

He chucked again.

"Jeez with the way you guys were acting I thought it was something terrible"

Once again, still nothing.

He could see his answer hadn't helped to clarify anything and tried to think of a way to explain himself.

"Guys... " He paused. How to phrase this? "You're hot"

"Cloud, be serious. This is not the time for flirting" Genesis snapped irritably.

The blond laughed again. He could sense their frustration but he couldn't help it. The whole situation was just so funny.

"No Gen, I mean you are literally hot. Your skin. Do you have any idea how much heat you guys put out. It's incredible and no offense but to an unenhanced person it's a bit too much. Especially an unenhanced person who is used to the cold."

He smiled warmly at his boyfriends, honestly touched by their concern for him, however off the mark it turned out to be. "I wasn't panicking because I was abused. I was panicking because I was overheated"

Understanding gradually dawned on each of the older men's faces quickly followed by varying degrees of embarrassment at how quickly they had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Oh"

The giggling started again. Cloud felt a little sorry for the others, they had clearly been very worried about him although he felt it served them right to some extent for the worry they had put him through with this stupid intervention. Eventually he calmed again and it returned to silence.

"So, what now?" Zack asked nervously. Although relieved to find their youngest partner had not suffered any great trauma, the elder four had worked themselves up so much for an emotional confrontation, this somewhat anticlimactic turn of events had left them all feeling emotionally drained. Cloud could sense the tension in the air and suddenly felt guilty for laughing before. Clearly his lovers had been strongly affected by their belief that he had been abused. Even though it had proven to be incorrect it was obvious they were still trying to emotionally process the situation.

Moving forward slowly the blonde teen once again wrapped his arms around the youngest SOLDIER's neck and drew him in to a tight hug, feeling the energy drain from the usually hyperactive young man. From their various positions on the surrounding sofas the other three gradually moved to join the youngest two kneeling on the floor, quickly forming a solid group hug as they clung together for support.

When the group finally broke apart there were more than one set of wet cheeks.

* * *

No one was in the mood to cook so they instead called for a pizza and finally switched on a film to distract from the sombre mood that had settled over the group. The film was some low budget action that had recently been released and as it progressed none of them could help throwing in sarcastic remarks on everything from the ridiculous fake fight scenes to the cardboard dialect and insane wardrobe. Each bringing about a wave of laughter which gradually broke down the tension and stress of the evening until finally the credits were rolling and all five men felt infinitely better.

It was with great relief that they all began rising, ready to head to bed, looking forward to a better tomorrow than today had been. Glancing toward the bedroom Cloud realised the obvious flaw in this plan which his older loves had clearly not clocked onto yet. Freezing where he stood he took a deep breath wondering how the others would react to his next words.

"I can't sleep with you anymore"

Four soldiers froze in their tracks.

Each turning to face the young man with a look of horror and apprehension. "Are you breaking up with us?" Zack blurted.

"No no no" Cloud quickly rushed to clarify "That's not what I mean Zack. I can still sleep with you, I mean I still want to be with you guys... I just can't share a bed with you." He looked nervously between the other males, preying they would understand.

"Would that be ok with you? Would you be alright if I slept in a different room" The cadets eyes widened innocently.

The four SOLDIERS couldn't deny the idea was upsetting. With their busy schedules keeping them apart for a large part of most days, being able to crawl into bed together and relax in the comfort and intimacy of each other's presence each night was a big part of their relationship. One they had all relished the thought of sharing with their newest boyfriend when they invited him to join them in this relationship. The thought him being excluded from that was distressing.

But how could they ask him to, knowing the discomfort it caused him.

The silence stretched on longer than they intended following the blondes request and in the quiet Clouds insecurity grew. It was remarkable how vulnerable he appeared in that moment. Nervous and honestly afraid that they would reject him for asking for this unexpected separation from the rest of the group. Their hearts broke.

It was Genesis who spoke first "Cloud honey, you can sleep wherever you like. We won't ask you to sleep in our bed if it hurts you" The sad look in the boys eyes showed he was not reassured.

"Its unconventional" Angeal ventured trying to reassure himself and the others as much as the cadet "but... so is everything else about our relationship" Strangely that seemed to help and the more he thought about it the more sense the idea made. "We didn't start this relationship knowing how to make it work. We have just been figuring it out as we go along. There is no right or wrong, there's just ... us. Whatever that means."

As they stood there in the hallway, listening to the oldest SOLDIERS reasoning the group of lovers once again started to relax. "We do things in whatever way fits for us and if that means Cloud sleeping apart then that's fine. It won't mean we love him any less." The others nodded in agreement and at that Cloud quickly let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding.

The smile of relief he showed them was enough to quash any remaining doubts they had. This was their relationship and they had meant it when they asked him to join them. They wanted him to feel safe and comfortable and were willing to do whatever it took to make it work. So if his joining them meant allowing him to sleep apart from them... then that was fine.

Once again moving towards the bedrooms the group came to a stop outside the guest room, each taking the time to give Cloud a soft lingering kiss goodnight before retiring to the main room down the hall. Into each kiss they poured all the affection they could muster to reassure both themselves and him that despite the physical distance between them, he was still as close to them as ever.

Falling asleep that night alone in a fresh cold bed, Cloud Strife had never felt more loved.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please review.


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